Family Travel. Real Life.

What Are Your Resort Pet Peeves?

Greetings from the Hyatt Grand Cypress in Orlando. I’m having a stay here that is just, well, off. There is not one thing I could point to as catastrophic but the resort managed to hit almost all of my resort pet peeves. I’m curious if you share them, or have your own.

Note that these are things I ding a four star or higher property for, I’m not expecting them at a 3 star. However, if the hotel is charging high end prices, you deserve high end services. To be fair, the Hyatt Grand Cypress reached out to us after reading this post and offered us a breakfast and an apology. It wasn’t my intention to play the DYKWIA card, they just happened to check most of my boxes on this visit.

Resort Pet Peeves: Design

Lovely, but you have to sludge through the lobby wet to return to your room. Image via Hyatt.

Access to pool is through lobby.

I hate this for two reasons. One, I don’t want to be the person dripping all over the tile while a lobby full of fully-dressed people go about their business. Two, I don’t want to be the person who slips on the puddle that the swimsuit-clad guest just created.

No separation between shower, vanity, and toilet.

If you are traveling with anyone else, getting ready time just got doubled if there’s not a door between the shower and the toilet. The Grand Cypress makes it even worse by putting the vanity in there as well so only one person use any part of the bathroom at a time. Adding a barn or pocket door to the toilet are would cost most hotels less than $100 a room. I am baffled by this bad design choice.

No Shower in Gym

To be honest, I think the Grand Cypress is the first resort in which I’ve ever encountered a fitness center in a four star property without a shower. I found it just odd, especially so because of the lack of privacy in the room bathrooms.

Resort Pet Peeves: Service and Soft Goods

Late Housekeeping

The Grand Cypress’ housekeeping didn’t show up at our room today until after 2PM. For a four star property, that is not acceptable. We were even out of the room for five hours this morning so they had plenty of time to clean up. If the do not disturb sign isn’t up at 9AM housekeeping should get to work.

I’ll add here your room not being ready on time. If you have to wait for your room you deserve more than a drink at the bar.

Cheap linens and pillows.

I’m not talking Princess and the Pea level perfect, but a bed with sheets from Big Lots detracts from my hotel experience in a big way. The Hyatt Grand Cypress did a great job with the linens but added another new pet peeve to my list: the bed is short sheeted. I’m only 5 foot 1 and the comforter barely covers my belly button. It’s just weird.

No next-to-bed charger.

I just had to crawl on hands and knees and unplug a lamp to get to an outlet. No bueno.

Bad in-room coffee

Looking at you here, Disney. A four star hotel needs Starbucks or similar quality. Period. Another no-no is powdered creamer. 7-Eleven stocks shelf stable liquid creamers, Hyatts and the like should be able to figure it out. This Hyatt Grand Cypress offers Starbucks, but powdered creamer and no stirrers so the creamer coagulates into your coffee. How much can stirrers be? Again, just a choice I don’t understand.

Not enough pool chairs

This afternoon at 1PM I had to circle the pool for twenty minutes to find an empty chair. The occupant of the chair next to it then insisted it was there for his wife who had left for an hour. I had to beg him to let me use it for long enough to take a dip in the pool and have a place for my stuff. Circling the resort like a vulture is not a great way to unwind on vacation.

I will also add bad pool chair quality. If the resort is at the Regency/Renaissance/Westin level, it shouldn’t be buying its pool equipment from K-Mart.

What drives you crazy at a resort? I’d love to hear if my pet peeves bother you, too.

13 thoughts on “What Are Your Resort Pet Peeves?”

To be fair, the hotel reached out to us after reading this post and offered us a breakfast and an apology. It wasn’t my intention to play the DYKWIA card, they just happened to check most of my boxes on this visit.

Instead of using a stirrer (pointless wasted item), put your cream and sugar in the cup first, then pour about 1/4-1/2″ of coffee in and swirl the bajeezus out of it. I’ve never understood why stirrers even exist…

We stayed there about a year or so ago. I didn’t love it. My kids liked the pool. The resort fee and parking fee was annoying. We did use the bikes, but not the water activities. It’s not at the top of my list to stay again. I didn’t think the rooms were anything special.

I just found out about your website in Woman’s World magazine, so this is my first time reading your pet peeves. I almost spit out my morning shake when I read the one of you crawling on the ground to unplug a lamp to be able to charge your phone! I’ve had to do that too.
My pet peeve is shower towels that are just not big enough. I really like a towel to wrap around me and keep me warm when I get out of the shower.

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I do want to be sure you know that companies may pay me a commission if you purchase through links on The Deal Mommy. I also get stuff for free from time to time to review. You'll see very quickly that in no way does any company affect what I write. My opinion is not for sale!
Take care, Dia

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